Tag: healing

Thanks to that sinus infection, I have had to learn to delegate and let go of things at work (in this day and age, a week away from the office is a long time).

Thanks to that sinus infection, I have had to take a good hard look at my activities and priorities and figure out what is genuinely important just now (complicated by the pounding headache affecting my brainwaves).

Thanks to that sinus infection, I’ve spent more time resting and reposing than I am comfortable with.

Thanks to that sinus infection, I am having to admit to my humanity and frailty and learn to ask for help.

Thanks to that sinus infection, I am having to slow myself down so my body can heal.

It’s not being an easy learning nor a comfortable one – and it’s certainly not how I planned to spend my birthday – but it is most definitely a useful learning.

Now to heal (hurrah for antibiotics and decongestants!) and retain the learning as the busyness of life descends again…

I’ve been reminded recently about how closely connected our minds and bodies are.

I’m not sure how the traditional dualistic approach of (good) mind vs (bad) body came about, but I’ve seen no evidence for its truth in my own life…

Instead it becomes increasingly clear every bug, every Spring (hello, hay fever 😦 ), and every morning I don’t ‘feel’ like moving, that my mind is most definitely connected to my body, and that my body’s state affects my mind.

When I don’t ‘feel’ well, I don’t think well or ‘do’ well (and sometimes I don’t ‘do’ at all!)

But then when I do feel well, I can do almost anything 🙂

So, how to promote one’s wellness?

There’s all the usual suspects: leafy greens, exercise, sleep (all those things annoying bright-eyed people tell you to do)…

But if I’m starting from a point of being not well, these are harder to do, which can then become a downward spiral (and why is it so hard to generate an upwards spiral?!)

Time, then, for the ‘unusual’ suspects:

#1 Be kind to yourself

It’s okay to not be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. It’s okay to spend the day in bed if that’s what your mind or body crave. It’s okay to phone in sick when you’re sick.

#2 Be gentle with yourself

You are precious – but may also be fragile. That’s okay. You can nurture yourself and coax yourself gently. You don’t have to do bootcamp everyday, unless that’s what you want. There’s no rule that says you have to ‘go hard’ all the time (or, in fact, any time!)

#3 Listen to your body, as well as your mind

Despite their close connections, our minds sometimes get rather grandiose plans about what our bodies can do. If your body says ‘rest’, then rest. You can play hard later… (see #1 and #2) Of course, if your body says ‘play’, then you can rest later 😉

And if you want to eat more leafy greens, do more yoga, eat paleo, inhale multi-vitamins, or whatever – go for it. But remember the unusual suspects, too ❤

I’ve been challenged in recent days about the amount of past baggage I’ve been letting intrude into my present. Between the loving but firm words of good friends and the continuing synchronicity of the internet, I’ve been unable to avoid facing up to this.

When I stopped procrastinating and avoiding it, and actually thought about my baggage, I realised a couple of things:

1. my skin renews itself entirely every seven years – surely I can allow my heart/soul/mind to renew after more than twice that many years, and

I’ve been having interesting, internally reflective times in recent months. This makes it hard for me to broadcast much externally – it’s not because I’ve forgotten you 😉

It all started late last year, when I realised my biggest barrier was …me…

So, I started working through Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way (which I do recommend – though do adapt it to suit your own life: weekly ‘artist’s dates’ are a distant dream for me, but I do take time to tend my inner artist, and there’s no reason why ‘morning pages’ can’t be done in the evening if that’s what suits you)

Eight months on and still doing my morning pages, I’ve learned a lot about myself and shifted a lot of crap (the psychic skip bin is overflowing!) – and I’m still my biggest barrier! However, I am a lot more conscious, more focused and a lot less effed up, so it’s all good really 🙂